Scouring products

ABSTRACT

A hand-held scouring product is disclosed. The hand-held scouring product is hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout. The hand-held scouring product consists essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibres.

The present invention relates to scouring products that are suitable forhand-held use in various environments including, but not restricted to,the domestic environment.

Substrates that provide a scouring action are widely used for cleaningin the domestic environment, being most frequently employed for cleaningcooking utensils and for cleaning surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms.Scouring substrates that are already known for such uses include fibrousnon-woven materials, which may incorporate abrasive particles to enhancetheir abrasive action. Comparatively-thin, resin-bonded, non-woven websof that type are often cut into hand pads that provide a scouring actionon both sides, and even thinner webs of that type are often laminated toa layer of sponge and cut into hand pads that provide a scouring actionon one side and a wiping action on the other. U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,593(Hoover et al), for example, describes scouring pads for use in thekitchen, which are formed from a lofty, non-woven three-dimensional webof autogenously-bonded fibres, with abrasive particles distributedwithin the web and bonded to the web fibres. The pads have a size of4.25×7.0×0.25 inches (approximately 10.8×17.8×0.65 cm).

Other hand-held scouring articles are described, for example, in WO92/01536; WO 95/34239; EP-A-0 808 602; GB-A-1 143 238; GB-A-1 171 980;U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,331; U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,134 and U.S. Pat. No.5,363,604. U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,668 describes an abrasive article forhand-scouring operations, which comprises a pad-type structure formedfrom a plurality of interlaced strips of plastic film.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of alternativescouring products comprising fibrous non-woven webs, with a view tooffering the consumer a wider choice of products that are convenient tohandle and suitable for use in differing circumstances.

The present invention provides a hand-held scouring product that ishand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consists essentially ofabrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibres. Inembodiments of the invention described herein, the product issubstantially cube-shaped or spherical but may also, for example, besubstantially ellipsoidal or cylindrical.

By way of example, scouring products in accordance with the presentinvention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scouring product in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a modified form of the scouring productof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another scouring product in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of one form of scouring product of the generaltype shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of another form of scouring product of thetype shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of yet another scouring product inaccordance with the invention.

Products in accordance with the embodiments of the invention describedbelow are all hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consistessentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven,autogenously-bonded fibres (i.e. fibres that are bonded to one anotherat mutual contact points). The abrasive material is lofty in nature,i.e. it has a relatively high degree of openness, or a comparatively lowdensity, due to the presence of a network of many, relatively large,intercommunicated voids. In the context of the present invention, theterm “lofty” indicates that the bonded web preferably has a density nogreater than about 60 kg/m³.

Three-dimensional matrices (for example, webs) of non-woven fibres maybe formed in different ways using known equipment provided specificallyfor that purpose, and the bonding of the fibres may also be broughtabout in different ways including, for example: spraying the matrix witha bonding resin, incorporating thermo-bonding fibres in the matrix as itis being formed, and incorporating powdered bonding resins in the matrixas it is being formed.

FIG. 1 shows a hand-held scouring product 1 that comprises a generallycube-shaped piece of fibrous, non-woven web material. The fibre web isan air-laid web formed, using a Rando-Webber web-making machine, from amixture of comparatively-coarse polymeric fibres and thermo-bondingfibres. The comparatively-coarse fibres have a titre in the range offrom about 200 to about 500 dtex. The web-making machine is adjusted toform a comparatively thick web, (for example, about 5 cm thick) with acomparatively low fibre basis weight (for example, in the range of from500 to 2000 g/m²). The fibre web is pre-bonded by passing it through anoven which is operated at a temperature sufficient to soften thethermo-bonding fibres and cause them to bond to the other fibres in theweb. The pre-bonded web is then roll-coated with a suitable resin, in anamount sufficient to saturate the web, and the resin is cured by passingthe web once more through the oven to form a bonded web that has adensity in the range of from 40 to 60 kg/m³. The bonded web is then cutinto cubes each being as shown in FIG. 1.

The comparatively coarse fibres may be polymeric fibres including, forexample, polyamide, polyester and/or polypropylene fibres.Alternatively, the comparatively coarse fibres may be natural fibresincluding, for example, coco and/or sisal fibres. The thermo-bondingfibres may be polyester or polypropylene fibres, and may be ofbi-component form. The roll-coat resin may be an acrylic latex resin ora rubber latex resin, resulting in a comparatively flexible web.However, any other suitable materials can be used.

If desired, the abrasive effect of the scouring product 1 can beincreased by incorporating abrasive particles in the roll-coat resin.Those particles may be of any type known to be suitable for use inscouring materials, and may comprise mineral and/or polymeric particles.Alternatively, the abrasive effect of the scouring product 1 can beincreased by incorporating some very coarse fibres (having a titre of,for example, about 1000 dtex) into the web.

In a first example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1 isformed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titreof about 200 dtex and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibreshaving a titre of about 20 dtex, in which the amount of thermo-bondingfibres is 20% by weight of the amount of Nylon fibres. The fibre web isformed with a thickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1000 g/m².

In a second example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1is formed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having atitre of about 500 dtex and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibreshaving a titre of about 20 dtex, in which the amount of thermo-bondingfibres is 20% by weight of the amount of Nylon fibres. The fibre web isformed with a thickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1300 gsm.

In a third example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1 isformed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titreof about 500 dtex; differently-coloured fibres, also of Nylon 6.6 buthaving a titre of about 1000 dtex, and polyester bi-componentthermo-bonding fibres having a titre of about 20 dtex, in which theamount of the 1000 dtex fibres is 25% by weight of the amount of the 500dtex fibres and the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 28% by weight ofthe amount of the 500 dtex fibres. The fibre web is formed with athickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1100 gsm.

In each of the above examples, the web is roll-coated with an acryliclatex resin after it has been pre-bonded, specifically a resin availableunder the trade name “Primal HA 12S” from Rolun & Haas Company ofPhiladelphia, Pa., USA.

The comparatively thick web from which the scouring product 1 is cutcould, of course, be formed in any other way known to be suitable forthat purpose. For example, the thermo-bonding fibres could be replacedby a powdered bonding resin, or the fibre web could be sprayed with abonding resin.

If desired, one or more sides of the scouring product can be coated witha layer of abrasive particles to provide an alternative scouring effect.To achieve a visually-attractive appearance, those particles may becoloured polymeric particles, for example multi-coloured PVC (polyvinylchloride) or melamine particles. FIG. 2, for example, shows a scouringproduct similar to that of FIG. 1 with abrasive particles 1A applied toone of its faces. This product can be formed by coating one side of apre-bonded fibre web with a resin, applying the abrasive particles 1Awhile the resin is still wet, and allowing the resin to cure beforecutting the web into cubes each being as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively,the resin and the abrasive particles 1A can be combined to form a slurrythat is sprayed onto the web.

Another hand-held scouring product 2 that is also cube-shaped is shownin FIG. 3. In this case, the scouring product is of layered constructionand comprises approximately square pieces 3 of fibrous, non-woven webmaterial placed one on top of another to form a cube. The pieces 3 may,for example, be approximately 7.0 cm square and 1.0 cm thick and beformed from any suitable grade of “ScotchBrite™” scouring materialavailable from 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn.; USA.

The layers 3 of web material forming the scouring product 2 may bepermanently bonded together using a suitable adhesive. To produce such ascouring product, lengths of web material would be bonded together toform the required number of layers and the layered material would thenbe cut into cube-shaped items. Suitable adhesives include hot-melturethane adhesives. The adhesive may be applied continuously over theentire surface of a web and may, for example, be applied in the form ofa film. Alternatively, the adhesive may be applied only to discreteareas spaced at regular intervals over the surface of a web sufficientto ensure effective bonding to the adjacent web.

Alternatively, the layers 3 of web material forming the scouring product2 may be temporarily attached together so that they can be separated, ifrequired. In that way, if the upper or lower surface of the productshould become dirty or damaged, it can be removed to expose a clean,unused surface. The layers can be attached together by, for example,using a suitable peelable adhesive; using discrete areas of adhesivethat can readily be separated; providing hook members on one layer thatengage in the web material of the adjacent layer; lightly needle-tackingone layer to another; or using web materials that inherently cling toone another.

The adjacent layers 3 of web material may be of different colours toenhance the appearance of the scouring product 2, but that is notessential. It is also possible to provide the product with two differentscouring actions by forming the half of the layers, at the top of thestack, from one grade of abrasive material and the other half of thelayers, at the bottom of the stack, from a different grade. In thatcase, the different grades of material may be of different colours toprovide a visual indication to the user.

An alternative way of forming the scouring product 2 is illustrated inFIG. 4. In this case, the adjacent layers 3 of web material do notadhere to one another across the whole of 15 their surface area but onlyat one edge 4. Moreover, the edge 4 at which adjacent layers 3 areattached to one another is located alternately on opposed sides of thecube. The result, as shown in FIG. 4, is that the scouring product canbe opened-up somewhat in the manner of a concertina and, consequently,is more flexible than the product described above with reference to FIG.3.

As described above, the attachment between adjacent layers 3 of thescouring product of FIG. 4 can be permanent or temporary; the adjacentlayers 3 may be of different colours; and the layers 3 at one end halfof the stack may be formed from a different grade of abrasive materialto the layers at the other end half of the stack.

A further alternative way of forming the scouring product 2 isillustrated in FIG. 5. In this case, the product is formed from onelength of non-woven web material 5 which is Z-folded as illustrated toform a cube. Partial cuts may be formed in the outermost surface of theweb material at the locations of the folds 6, if desired, to facilitatethe folding operation and also to make the folds less apparent at theside faces of the final product. The length of material 5 may, forexample, be approximately 7.0 cm wide and folded (at locations spacedapproximately 7.0 cm apart along its length) a sufficient number oftimes to produce a Z-folded stack that is approximately 7.0 cm high. TheZ-folded construction, like the concertina construction of FIG. 4, alsoprovides a more flexible scouring product.

Adjacent layers of the product of FIG. 5 can be attached to one another,either permanently or temporarily as described above with reference toFIG. 4.

The web material 5 of FIG. 5 may, for example, be any suitable grade ofthe above-mentioned “Scotch-Brite™ ” scouring material available from 3MCompany of St. Paul, Minn., USA. Alternatively, the web material 5 maybe an open material having a density no greater than 60 kg/M³(preferably no greater than 50 kg/m³) and formed from comparativelycoarse fibres, for example polypropylene or polyester fibres that may becoloured as desired to impart an attractive appearance to the product.Those fibres are preferably bonded to one another by a transparent resinselected, for example, from polyester, epoxy and latex resins. The webmaterial 5 may further include abrasive particles bonded to the fibres:the particles may be comparatively large in size (for example having adiameter in the range of from 60 to 500 μm or even larger) and/or of acontrasting colour to the fibres, to impart an attractive appearance tothe product and also to ensure that the presence of the particles isclearly apparent to the user through the open fibre web. It will beappreciated that, because the scouring product of FIG. 5 is effectivelyformed from several layers of a thinner web material, the constructionof the product will be substantially uniform throughout: in particular,the abrasive particles will be distributed substantially uniformlythroughout the product and will not be concentrated only at a surface.

Another hand-held scouring product 8 is shown in FIG. 6. In this case,the product is generally spherical and has a diameter of the order of7.0 cm and a density no greater than 60 kg/m³. The fibrous matrix fromwhich the scouring product 8 is formed can comprise similar fibres tothose in the scouring products of FIGS. 1 to 4 described above, and thefibres can also be bound to one another in similar ways, for example byspraying the matrix with a bonding resin, incorporating thermo-bondingfibres in the matrix as it is being formed, or incorporating powderedbonding resins in the matrix as it is being formed. The scouringproducts 8 may be formed individually from spherical masses of fibres,or may be formed from an existing fibrous web either before or after thebonding process has been completed.

Advantageously, the scouring product 8 comprises comparatively coarsefibres, having a titre of at least 200 dtex, formed into a comparativelyopen matrix. Fibres of two or more different colours and/or differenttitres may be used, to enhance the appearance of the product and/or tomodify its abrasive performance.

In one example, a spherical scouring product 8 is made in the followingmanner. An air-laid fibre web is formed, using a Rando-Webber web-makingmachine, from a mixture of comparatively-coarse polymeric fibres andthermo-bonding fibres. The comparatively-coarse fibres have a titre ofat least 200 dtex. The web-making machine is adjusted to form acomparatively thick web (for example, about 5 cm thick) with acomparatively low fibre basis weight (in the range of from 500 to 2000g/m²). The fibre web is pre-bonded by passing it through an oven whichis operated at a temperature sufficient to soften the thermo-bondingfibres and cause them to bond to the other fibres in the web. While theweb is still warm, it is formed by hand into spherical pieces having adensity of about 40 kg/m₃.

A suitable fibre mixture for the product 8 comprises white Nylon 6.6fibres having a titre of 500 dtex, blue Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titreof 1000 dtex (to enhance the abrasive effect of the product), andpolyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibres having a titre of 20 dtex,in which the amount of blue fibres is 25% by weight of the amount ofwhite Nylon fibres and the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 28% byweight of the amount of white Nylon fibres.

Products similar to that shown in FIG. 6 could be provided with othershapes, for example generally ellipsoidal or cylindrical shapes.

The various scouring products described above with reference to thedrawings are all convenient and comfortable to use because of their sizeand, consequently, enable the user to carry out a scouring operationmore efficiently. They provide the user with an increased choiceregarding both the overall form and the construction of scouringproducts, making it easier for the user to select a product that is mostsuitable for a particular cleaning operation. Moreover, the constructionof the products makes it comparatively easy for the manufacturer to varytheir appearance, through the use of different coloured fibres andabrasive particles (when present), and thereby enhance their appeal tothe consumer.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A hand-held scouring product that is hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consists essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibers.
 18. The product as claimed in claim 17, in which the size of the product is substantially the same in the three dimensions.
 19. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the size of the product is at least 5.0 cm in the three dimensions.
 20. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the size of the product is in the range of from 5.0 to 12.0 cm in the three dimensions.
 21. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material comprises polymeric fibers or natural fibers.
 22. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material comprises polymeric fibers having a titre of at least 20 dtex.
 23. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material is a lofty material having a density no greater than about 60 kg/m³.
 24. The product as claimed in claim 1, comprising substantially the same abrasive material throughout.
 25. The product as claimed in claim 1, including abrasive particles bonded to the fibers.
 26. The product as claimed in claim 1, which is substantially cube-shaped.
 27. The product as claimed in claim 1, the product being formed from a single web of non-woven material.
 28. The product as claimed in claim 1, the product being formed from a plurality of adjacent layers of abrasive material that are attached to one another.
 29. The product as claimed in claim 28, in which some, at least, of the layers are separable from the others.
 30. The product as claimed in claim 29, the product being formed from a length of non-woven material that is Z-folded to form a cube-shaped stack.
 31. The product as claimed in claim 1, which is substantially spherical, ellipsoidal or cylindrical in shape. 